Chapter 189: Awakening in a Dream

The business of KeLai Restaurant had always relied on a few regular customers. After the change of ownership, business declined even further, with the second floor seeing virtually no customers. The first floor, however, gradually regained its former prosperity thanks to unchanged meal prices, though daily earnings were still insufficient. Its income barely covered wages, leaving extra expenses to be paid out of pocket.

The inn’s business improved again as the regulars from KeLai Restaurant started visiting, with over 170 tables served each day. Yet, this dominance in the north of the city didn’t last long. With the emergence of a new star at YingFeng Tower, business dropped by twenty to thirty tables, though not drastically.

Lin Dong made time to visit YingFeng Tower. The new star was named YingYing. Her appearance, piano skills, and singing might not be as excellent as YingChunHua had claimed compared to YiYi, but her dancing skills were truly remarkable. With her alluring figure, she could arouse any man’s desire while dancing.

However, the atmosphere there had completely changed. YingYing was better at socializing and knew how to attract men’s attention. In YiYi’s time, the second floor of YingFeng Tower had already become more of a bar than a restaurant, but YingYing made customers there care even less about the food and drinks.

According to Lin Dong, if things continued like this, the second floor of YingFeng Tower would likely turn into what WanBin Tower used to be. The difference was that WanBin Tower relied on connections—customers went there mainly to give gifts, so even poor food didn’t matter. At YingFeng Tower, on the other hand, all customers came for YingYing alone, and no one cared about the food.

Lin Dong was sure that, unlike YiYi’s gentle and graceful style, YingYing’s bold and charming demeanor would lead to a drastic change in YingFeng Tower’s reputation within a year or two. Wealthy families would definitely avoid it for proper banquets.

Over time, once YingYing’s appeal faded, if YingFeng Tower didn’t change, its business would only get worse. If it tried to change, it would likely go even further downhill, turning its second and first floors into places for debauchery, just at a higher class and with more spending.

Everything unfolded as Lin Dong had predicted. After YingFeng Tower introduced its new star, it would have a short-term impact on the inn’s business, but over time, it wouldn’t be a problem.

In the middle of the night, Lin Dong sat alone in his room. He wasn’t practicing or lost in thought—he just stared intently at the experience points on his colorful bed.

Level 1: 99%!

After midnight would be the time for an upgrade.

Time passed by moment by moment, and Lin Dong’s focus grew increasingly intense. The upgrade of the Colorful Bed was no longer in doubt. What worried Lin Dong was that he feared the additional attributes after the upgrade might not be suitable for promotion. If that were the case, his idea that room revenue could rival that of the lobby would also crumble.

As he pondered anxiously, the experience value suddenly changed. Level 2, 1%! Lin Dong took a deep breath and immediately checked the attributes of the Colorful Bed.

Colorful Bed: Upgradable, Level 2, 1%. Once activated, it consumes a bit of spiritual energy per hour.
1. Allows a person to fall asleep within fifteen minutes.
2. Enables the person to enter a dream state while remaining awake.

Lin Dong slapped his hand in excitement—another attribute had indeed been added. Entering a dream while staying awake… After considering it for a moment, a faint smile appeared on his lips. Although this second attribute was extraordinary, it wasn’t enough to shock the world. No matter how much it was promoted, it still wouldn’t catch the attention of powerful figures. As for nobles, with Li Jiancheng’s connections in Autumn Wind City, they could be completely ignored.

There were no concerns about revealing it. Although fifteen taels of silver was still expensive, it wasn’t as unattainable as before, when no one was willing to give it a try. The ability to enter a dream while staying awake would surely attract those with substantial wealth who were just curious enough to give it a try.

After quick calculations, Lin Dong came up with a plan: add five taels of profit, making it twenty taels per day. By the time the wealthy people in Autumn Wind City had tried it all, the Colorful Bed would likely have reached Level 3. With new attributes that were also suitable for promotion, there wouldn’t be a shortage of customers. Even if it wasn’t suitable for promotion, they could always lower the price.

Since the Colorful Bed could already generate five taels of profit per day at Level 2, Lin Dong became even more convinced that the room business, which had been barely breaking even, would eventually be as profitable as the lobby once the bed reached a higher level and its attributes affected the entire inn.

After careful consideration, Lin Dong decided not to activate the second attribute. Three days later, the experience value of the Colorful Bed stopped increasing. Clearly, Emperor Qianwei had checked out.

After waiting another ten days or so, Ma Chun brought news that Lord Wang wanted to see him. Lin Dong originally didn’t want to grant this favor. Meeting Emperor Qianwei was a waste of time and carried some risk, as he might still be determined to get his hands on the Colorful Bed. But remembering his request for Yang Shun to design and decorate the inn, Lin Dong still took Yun Lan along to the lodging building.

In the top-floor room, the Colorful Bed was no longer there. As soon as they knocked on the door, Yang Shun scolded them with a cold expression.

“How did you do this? Didn’t I tell you not to leave after arriving in Xilan City, and to bring back the Colorful Bed once we were ready to set off?”
Lin Dong paid no attention to Yang Shun’s attitude. Whether it was feigned or genuine, he didn’t care and casually replied, “I waited in Xilan City for a day and a night without seeing you. There were so many things to take care of in Qiufeng City—I simply didn’t have time. It’s good I didn’t wait; you stayed there for over a month. If I had kept waiting in Xilan City, the inns there would have closed down by now.”
Yang Shun became like a powder keg, instantly enraged by Lin Dong’s attitude and about to explode, but Lin Dong’s words left him speechless: “I’m here to see Lord Wang. If there’s nothing else, could you let me in?”
“Come in!” Yang Shun stepped aside, suppressing his anger.
After confirming it was safe inside, Lin Dong entered the room first, with Yun Lan following slowly.
Emperor Qian Wei nodded slightly at Lin Dong and said with a smile, “Manager Lin, it’s been a month. How’s business at the inn?”
“Thanks to Lord Wang, business is going alright,” Lin Dong replied with a bow and a smile. “Lord Wang also seems much better than a month ago. I wonder if you’ve met my old friend?”
“I have already. Speaking of this, I owe a debt of gratitude to Manager Lin,” Emperor Qian Wei said. “Without your Colorful Bed, I probably wouldn’t have been able to stay in Xilan City for a month.”
“Congratulations!” Lin Dong said politely, waiting for further words.
“Manager Lin, I asked you last time if you planned to open an inn in the capital,” Emperor Qian Wei inquired. “Have you changed your mind?”
Lin Dong shook his head with a wry smile. “It’s not that I don’t want to. There are countless wealthy people in the capital. If Lord Wang really helped, making money wouldn’t be a problem. But this requires the approval of an elder. If I rashly opened an inn there, I’m afraid he’d be upset. And since he’s so elusive, I can only decline Lord Wang’s kind offer.”
“It seems I can only wait for good news from the capital,” Emperor Qian Wei said, still smiling faintly, seemingly not too concerned. But Lin Dong understood that the trouble wasn’t entirely resolved. Lin’s Inn would likely face powerful thieves several times over, and every move of theirs would probably be under scrutiny.
Fortunately, at Emperor Qian Wei’s age, it was already the most intense period of the throne struggle. No matter how troubled he was, he probably wouldn’t have the energy to focus much on Lin’s Inn.

Lin Dong said apologetically, “If the esteemed elder permits, I will definitely go to the capital to try and open the Lin’s Inn there.”
“If that day ever comes, Manager Lin must remember to come to the Wang family’s residence on Huangma Street in the capital to see me,” Emperor Qianwei said helplessly. “It has already taken quite a bit of time to come here, and with many household matters to attend to, I came to the inn just to ask again if Manager Lin is willing to open an inn in the capital. Now that we have an answer, it’s time for us to set off.”
Lin Dong immediately looked disappointed. “Is Lord Wang leaving today?”
Emperor Qianwei nodded gently.
“It seems we can’t keep such a distinguished guest here,” Lin Dong said feigning regret. “I’ll go now and instruct the staff to prepare more fodder for the carriage.”
“Thank you, Manager Lin. Yang Shun, see you off,” Emperor Qianwei said, rubbing his temples without trying to keep him.
“Let’s go!” Yang Shun flipped his right hand, tossing a golden ingot into Lin Dong’s hands. “This is a reward for you. Tell the staff to prepare more fodder.”
Lin Dong nodded and left the Tianzi Room with Yun Lan, while Yang Shun followed downstairs with a proud air.
“Manager Lin!” Upon reaching the passage, Yang Shun’s attitude changed drastically. He took out several blueprints from his storage spirit ring and handed them to Lin Dong respectfully. “These are the designs for the inn’s decorations as you requested. I wasn’t sure what kind of style you preferred, and due to time constraints, I’ve only designed two styles for the guest rooms—simple and luxurious—and two styles for the lobby—elegant and grand.”
Lin Dong was overjoyed and quickly took the blueprints to examine them. They showed a guest room with a desk, wooden bed, doors, windows… along with numerous furniture and decorations, all with detailed notes on their colors and sizes.
“Manager Lin, things were a bit rushed, so I could only design this much for now,” Yang Shun said apologetically. “These designs are based on the space available for the guest rooms and the lobby. If the inn needs to be renovated in the future and the sizes change, they might not be suitable.”
“That’s fine. These are more than enough,” Lin Dong said, scanning the four blueprints one by one, overjoyed. Though he wasn’t very familiar with decoration, such detailed categorization surely would yield excellent results.
If the inn were gradually renovated according to these blueprints, the first floor of the lobby would be elegant and fresh, while the second and third floors would be grand and imposing. The regular guest rooms would be simple and refined, and the Jiazi Rooms would be luxurious and opulent—sure to elevate the inn’s overall style.
With these various styles, though somewhat mixed, the atmosphere of the inn would certainly be on par with any restaurant or inn in the capital or even the prefecture towns.

If they want to take things to the next level, they can find another opportunity to meet with Yang Shun then—there will be no shortage of better designs.
“Shopkeeper Lin, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back first.” Seeing Lin Dong’s pleased expression, Yang Shun felt much more at ease. He immediately bowed and said, “In the future, Yang Shun will find a way to recruit one or two informants in the capital. I’ll have them send messages to the inn. Should you have any instructions in the future, you can convey them to me through these informants. Yang Shun is willing to do anything for you.”
Lin Dong nodded. Emperor Qianwei’s visit to Qiufeng City this time brought mixed feelings—worried about the added threat, but pleased that it solved the problem of having no guests for the Colorful Bed in the early stages, and he also got a free design master.